Trembling Horses and Water Nights
by kivawolfspeaker
Summary: RE-EDITED! A story inspired by miss Pooka's Tesla one-shot, Octavia Butler's book "Fledgling", Eric Whitacre's "Water Night", and of course Sanctuary. Please Read & Review!
1. The Things We Never Thought To Ask

Chapter 1: The Things We Never Thought to Ask:

A dark haired man who looked around 30 years old was lying in what appeared to be a hospital bed. He had an IV attached to the back of his right hand and was just starting to stir.

"Would somebody mind telling what I'm doing here?" the man asked rather groggily, when he had regained enough consciousness.

"You're in the Sanctuary infirmary, Nikola. You were having a lucid nightmare last night and I just happened to hear you're screams while walking by," Helen Magnus answered. She was a raven haired, tall, blue eyed woman that carried a very strong willed, intelligent demeanor with her.

"That doesn't explain _how_ I got here or _why_ I need to be here," Nikola tried to say matter-of-factly, but it was clear he was still a little out of it. In fact, he remembered very little, if anything, from last night at the moment. The last thing he remembered was going over his own lab notes in one of the Sanctuary's guest rooms and feeling abnormally tired. This undoubtedly frustrated him, as he never took well to being in situations he didn't want to be in. He had to find a way back to his notes.

Nikola grimaced in pain as he tried to sit up. 'What the hell happened last night?' he wondered. He reluctantly lied back down. As much as he may have wanted to get back to looking over his notes again; he hurt like hell. Nikola recognized it was in his best interest to lie back down, at least for a little while longer.

Helen thought about telling him the content of his nightmare, as she watched him struggle to try and get up. But since Nikola had just started waking up, she thought better of it. Perhaps it would be better if Will had talked to him about that first. Will was after all the Sanctuary psychologist and she knew Nikola well enough to know he wouldn't be easy to reach or get through to; even if what Nikola had experienced last night was based in fact. Helen was pleased to see that Nikola had decided to lie back down for now.

~Will Zimmerman's Office~

Will Zimmerman was busy at the computer, doing more research on Nikola Tesla, trying to find out if anything he had said during his nightmare was true. To be quite honest, Will really didn't know much about the guy, except that he'd invented the radio, was considered a wacko by most people, and seemed to be a bit of an ass.

However, after seeing him like he was last night, Will was starting to develop some compassion for the man. As it turned out, according to his research so far, what Nikola mentioned last night about _was_ true. Dane was Nikola's older brother and had died right in front of him from a horse riding accident when Nikola spooked the horse. That, and Nikola was only 7 when it happened.

'Damn, that's an early age to have experienced death,' Will thought. What made the story more interesting was there were multiple accounts of how Dane died. One of particular interest was that Nikola had pushed Dane down the cellar stairs, after being blamed for his brother's dog's death.

"Could a seven year old really have enough strength to push a fourteen year old down a flight of stairs?" Will asked himself out loud not realizing Henry, the Sanctuary's tech geek who also designed and ran the security systems, had walked in the room.

"Huh?" Henry asked as he walked into Will's office, standing behind him; reading over his shoulder.

"It says here that Nikola's older brother, Dane, died falling off a horse when Nikola was only seven and all of this happened right in front of him," Will told him.

"It also says that some believed he pushed his brother down the stairs," Henry replied.

"Considering Nikola mentioned the horse riding incident last night, that's probably what happened, but I'd have to try and talk to him to be sure," Will concluded.

"The other story is probably something the bullies made up just to tease the guy," Henry replied again.

"I should probably talk with Magnus about what we've found. It might help explain a lot of his behavior."

"Hold on a minute buddy. It also says here that Dane was the family favorite and that no matter what Nikola did to ease his parent's pain, it only seemed to worsen it," Henry added.

"Well, I should still go and find Dr. Magnus and tell her what we've found," Will said as he and Henry walked out of Will's office and towards Helen's.


	2. The Plot Thickens

Chapter 2: The Plot Thickens

**~Cabal Headquarters~**

Miles away in what appears to be a high-class business center made of mostly glass, a very fair skinned woman was talking with Dana Whitcomb.

"It's not a total loss. They may have gotten their daughter Ashley back, but we still have the Source Blood to use for our little research project. In a way, it's a pity that some of the most brilliant minds on the planet don't know its true origins," Dana told the woman.

"Good. The Mathews brat should never find out his true origins. You're sure he still believes what was left at Ba'alesom by the church centuries ago?" The woman asked.

"Yes. He is convinced to the point where he has unwittingly helped us with our research. In fact, the rest of The Five and Gregory Magnus are as well, and there's only three of The Five left: Druitt, Magnus' daughter Helen, and the Mathews brat," Dana replied with a smirk on her face.

"He obviously has that same desire to do genetic experimentation his elders have, as well as the same smug arrogance. Damn those half-breeds! See what happens when you combine Ina and human DNA? Impurities, that's what you get. Lucky him, his parents figured out how to de-activate his Ina genetics, otherwise he'd have been found, captured, and killed long before he ever had a chance to comprehend who or what he was. However, we knew there was a possibly that he might come close," the woman explained.

"So you steered Gregory and The Five towards the genetically altered Ina DNA from the Church centuries ago to keep them distracted?"

"Once we found out about it, yes. Until the brat decided to start mixing his own altered DNA with that of humans," the woman remarked exasperated.

"Why is this a big deal Ana? I didn't question you the first time we went after Tesla, but now I'm beginning to wonder. I mean, it's not like he's figured out much of anything anyways since what he's going off of is mostly bull. And, as long as he continues to use the altered DNA, I'm sure he won't. Plus, we now have the perfect warrior for out little 'cleansing', Dana asked, not realizing Ana Dahlman was standing right behind her.

"Perhaps you're right. However, I think it's been far too long since I fed from you. Remember, you are my symbiont and symbionts don't question their Ina," Ana said with a sly smile as she fed from Dana's neck.

Dana gasped as Ana bit her. It had been too long, almost too long since Ana had fed from her. To most of the Dahlman's, symbionts or humans in general were considered to be the equivalent of slaves to feed off of and nothing more. Dana was the one exception to this rule if for no other reason then Ana liked to show her dominance over Dana. But, then again, Dana also enjoyed the show Ana put on. Besides, she was far too addicted to Ana's venom. If she went too long without the venom, Dana would surely die.

**~Back at the Sanctuary~**

Bigfoot, the Sanctuary butler, was busy cleansing the front foyer when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Can I help you?" He asked the two humanoid figures standing outside.

"He's here. I can smell him," the female said as Bigfoot opened the door.

"Are you sure?" the male asked.

"Yes. Even though mother and father have de-activated his Ina genetics, I can still pick up his sent," the female replied with certainty.

"Ah, that makes sense," the male replied.

Bigfoot studied the two closely, trying to figure out if they were a threat to the Sanctuary or not. Of course he had no idea what they were talking about, but thought it might be of interest to Dr. Magnus.

"We mean no harm; we are just trying to find our brother. We believe he is here," the male said.

As he said this, Bigfoot noticed he bore a striking resemblance to Tesla.

"Also, we have important information regarding an organization you call the Cabal," the female responded.

"What do you know about the Cabal?" Bigfoot asked suspiciously.

"Like I said before, we have important but perhaps somewhat surprising information about them," the female answered.

Bigfoot studied them again, not sure whether he believed their story or not. There was no one named Stephan at the Sanctuary that he was aware of. But, than again the male did look quite a bit like Tesla. Perhaps Dr. Magnus would be a better judge of them and their story.

"Come in and have a seat. I'll go get Dr. Magnus," Bigfoot told them.


	3. Let the Confusion Begin

**Chapter 3: Let the Confusion Begin**

The two persons walked into the foyer, studying the place closely as Bigfoot went to get Dr. Magnus. The female was a beautiful, tall, dark skinned, brown eyed middle-aged looking woman, while the male was slightly smaller with fairer skin.

"I hear you have information on the Cabal that might be of interest to my colleagues and me?" Helen Magnus asked as she walked into the foyer.

"Ah yes, you must be Dr. Magnus, pleased to meet you. My name is Theodora Mathews and this is my brother, Iosif. We also believe our brother Stephan is here. Have you seen him?" Theodora asked while holding up a picture of Tesla.

"His name is Nikola, not Stephan. But . . . if this is who you are looking for, then, yes he is here," Helen replied.

"How did you track him down, if you don't mind me asking?" Helen asked, wondering herself.

"We or rather Theodora tracked his scent. Ina smell and senses in general are quite a bit more refined then our human counterparts," Iosif replied.

"Excuse me? You mentioned something I'm unfamiliar with. Who or what are the Ina?" Helen asked, intrigued by Iosif's answer to her question.

"The Ina are probably responsible for most of the world's vampire lore."

"But I thought vampires were of the species, sanguine vampiris?" Helen interrupted, a puzzled look on her face.

"That maybe what your people called us, but most of the lore is false, even most of what was left at Ba'alesom," Iosif answered as the door bell rang again.

"That's probably mother and father," Theodora said, as Helen went to get the door.

Helen opened the door, seeing two people with similar features to the ones she just was just talking to.

"Hello, you must be the mother and father, Theodora was talking about. I'm Dr. Helen Magnus. Looking for your "son" I presume?"

"Yes, we are familiar with your work Dr. Magnus and yes we believe he is here. My name is Shori Mathews and this is one of my mates, William Gordon."

'One of?' Helen thought. This was getting more interesting by the minute! It was then that Helen noticed how strikingly similar both Iosif and William looked to Nikola. Iosif had a slightly darker complexion, but everything else in terms of physicality was the same as far as she could tell. Perhaps they were telling the truth about Nikola being their son and brother. If so, Helen wondered how Nikola would take the news. 'Not well, I bet,' Helen thought again.

**~The Sanctuary Infirmary, 15 minutes earlier~**

Nikola Tesla was attempting to get up off the infirmary bed again. Still in pain even though the sedative had worn off completely, he found himself alone. He had decided to rest for a while longer; but . . . only after realizing how much pain he was in from last night, whatever had happened. 'She must have gone to talk with that protégé of hers, whatever his name was,' Nikola thought.

Nikola could bare the pain enough to walk, so he got up and went back to the guestroom he was staying in. He didn't like being in his nightclothes from last night still, and it was quarter to eight in the evening. He **needed** to get dressed. He had work to do! 'Damn, I didn't think 'rest a little more' would mean all day!' Nikola thought sarcastically while he got dressed. After he finished getting dressed, he proceeded to find Helen. They had much to discus concerning their situation with the Cabal.

He was on his way to Helen's office, when he heard voices in the foyer. One of them sounded like Helen's, but he was too far away to tell. Plus, Helen wasn't expecting company; at least not that he was aware of. He decided to check it out and started walking towards the foyer area.

As Nikola drew closer to enter, he began to catch better wind of the conversation.

"_How did you track down, if you don't mind me asking?"_ he heard Helen ask the two people, one male, one female setting across from her.

'Crap,' Nikola thought, panicked. 'But it doesn't make since that Helen would work with the Cabal just to turn me in. If that had been the case, wouldn't she have just let them capture me in Italy? Something else has to be going on, but what is it?'

"We or rather Theodora tracked his scent. Ina smell and senses are quite a bit more refined than our human counterparts," the male answered. Nikola was intrigued by the male's answer to Helen's question. What made these unexpected visitors even more fascinating was the fact that he noticed the male's similar appearance to his own.

'This is getting interesting,' Nikola thought to himself. Although he had no real evidence of it, he got a strong feeling that the "him" these beings had sniffed out, was in fact himself. He had never in all his research come across an abnormal that looked partially human but could track something down by scent alone. The fact, that he might have more than the Cabal to worry about was, somewhat troubling. These "Ina", who or what ever they were, were a potential threat. Even so, Nikola decided to continue listening to the conversation from a distance.

"_The Ina are probably responsible for most of the world's vampire lore."_

"But I thought vampires were of the species sanguine vampiris?"

'As did I,' Nikola thought to himself.

"That may have been what your people called us, but most of the lore is false, even most of what was left at Ba'alesom," the male answered.

'Wait, what!?' Nikola thought, panicked and became lost in a whirlwind of thought as two others entered the foyer.

Nikola was brought out of his temporary whirlwind of thoughts by a request for his presence in the foyer.

"We know you're hiding close by. We can smell that you are. You might as well come out of the shadows," one of the females declared.

"Was about to anyways; not that I believe anything I've heard thus far. Who or what are you and why are you here?" Nikola asked rather flippantly.

"My name is Shori Mathews, this is one of my mates William Gordon, and these are two of our children, Theodora and Iosif," she said, pointing to each of them as she said their names.

"You, we believe are a family member of ours," she continued while showing Nikola the picture of himself she held up.

Nikola stared at the photo momentarily before speaking again; also taking note that the other male looked quite a bit like him as well.

"What makes you think you can just come in "tracking" me down like I'm you're prey and claim that I'm your family?" he asked, anger and annoyance showing though in the tone of his voice.

"Nikola!" Helen interjected, looking at him sternly.

"You really have no idea about your true origins, do you?" Theodora asked, slight frustration showing itself in the tone of her voice.

"Theodora! Claim down. It's not like he was ever really given a chance to learn about it in the first place. We never wanted to give him up, but we knew it was the best course of action until the rest of the Silks were dealt with," William answered.

Nikola looked at the guests with interest, although he was unsure if he wanted to hear anymore of their story. On the one hand, it sounded like he might still have family and perhaps his ancestors hadn't been completely killed off or sterilized. On the other hand, if that was true, than both he and The Five had been played for fools. He was getting increasingly uneasy and conflicted feelings about all this.


	4. The Back Story, Part 1

**Chapter 4: The Back story: Part 1**

"I know," Theodora responded to William. "I just wish the Silks had kept their promise so we wouldn't have had to give him up in the first place," Theodora said her face ridden with guilt.

"And, he was so young when we did it to," Shori added with guilt showing through in her facial expression as well.

Nikola looked at all the guests with a confused face. He had no idea what they were talking about, and he had never taken not knowing very well. He listened closely as his supposed family was telling him the story of how they were forced to abandon him. Apparently, some of his own kind, if he was in fact part Ina, wanted him to suffer simply because he was part human. These factions, mainly the Silk family, had also done similar to his supposed Ina mother, who was also part human. They had burned both her mother's & father's communities; killing everyone except one of her father's and one of her brother's symbionts.

It was upon hearing this that the memory of what had happened last night was triggered in Nikola's mind. Nikola shuddered. It was disturbing that Helen had found out his secret. She would likely confront him about it later. He had kept it guarded, so well, for so long, why did it have to come out now?

"Why should I believe anything you've said?" Nikola asked trying to hide behind disbelief.

"Even as you ask that question, you doubt yourself. You're confused, yet you try to hide behind disbelief. You **want** to believe what we tell you. That your half brother didn't die because he wasn't really your brother," Shori said.

Nikola got up off the chair he was sitting in. He had had enough of this shit.

"Again, you think you can just come in here and make claims like this! Even if they are true, you give me little reason to trust you," Nikola demanded exasperated, ready to storm out of the foyer.

"I admit, this is not easy information to take in and will take time to digest. It would have been foolish of us to think you'd believe or trust us right away," William answered.

"I may have had some not so bright ideas in the past, but I find it hard to believe that I, being the genius I am, am this gullible!" Nikola exclaimed.

"If you knew about his childhood, why didn't you do something?" Helen interjected.

"Again, we are regrettably sorry, but we had to make sure taking him back, would not have taken his family or his own life away from him," William answered.

"I still don't understand why my own kind, if they're even still around as you claim, would want to kill me. Are they afraid of my genius?" Nikola asked with a smirk on his face, having calmed a bit.

"Yes, however not as you have come to think of it."

"Then how?" Nikola asked, impatient for answers.

"We can show you. However, we need to get the altered DNA out of you first."

Both Nikola and Helen looked at the guests with puzzled faces.

"The blood you two interjected into yourselves over a century ago was not from a 'pure' sample as you have been led to believe."

"Then what was it and why have you waited until now to tell us?"

"An urgent matter has come up and we needed to contact you. We are very familiar with both you and your father's work Dr. Magnus. Perhaps more familiar then you realize. We know about 'The Five' and those experiments. Again, we had to wait until it was either safe for us to contact you or we were left with no choice but to do so. As it stands, the later is the case. Did those you call the Cabal ever go after you?" Shori asked Nikola, directly facing him.

"Yes, but they didn't catch me," Nikola told them wondering why that would be important.

"Were you injured? In other words, did you leave blood behind?"

"Yes. Crap! The Cabal probably had another team on standby ready to come in and get the blood. Which means they have my DNA," Nikola deduced.

"Yes and they obviously figured out how to bring another 'you' into existence in order to do their biding. We had a run in with this other 'you' recently, hence the urgent matter. We knew he wasn't the real you, as he did not know about your half-step brother's death, which is why we had to ask about it."

"But how would they get this 'me' to do their biding? They know damn well, I won't willingly." Nikola asked.

"I think I know," Helen interjected again. "Some of the Sanctuary staff and I had a run in similar to what you are describing. They probably had or have a bug in his neck that makes him 'forget' who he really is. They did this with my father, when experimenting on humans to create some sort of warrior for God knows what reasons," Helen continued.

"Anyways, back to the altered DNA. Despite what masquerades these days as vampire lore, there were members of the church that were Ina and/or their symbionts. When they were found out, many were kicked out or killed."

"So the church did hunt them?"

"Yes, that part is true. Our kind were hunted and forced to go underground, not that many Ina families planned on taking over the world or anything like that. However, there was no sterilization of the remaining Ina, as the literature you have both read suggests.

"It should also be noted that while some Ina view humans as inferior species, most do not. That being said, while Ina do feed off humans, most have set moral and ethical guidelines for doing so," Shori explained.

"While most of the Ina who were part of the church were kicked out or killed, a small sub-group of Ina and their symbionts remained. We, like our human counterparts also have certain factions that are religious. Those Ina that remained a part of the church believe we were placed on Earth by a mother Goddess. Those Ina that believed this were opposed to any genetic inter-mixing between Ina and humans. Despite their opposition, they were relatively quiet about it, for a while. We presume this is because they thought our experiments would fail," William continued.

"What experiments?" both Nikola & Helen asked in unison.

"Our kind has had a long standing aversion to sunlight. Exposure to sunlight makes our skin blister. This aversion & blistering has also made it hard for us to blend in with humans. Since our kind had found out about and have been practicing genetic re-engineering long before humans have, we started experimenting," Shori began to explain.

Nikola shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he continued listening to this Shori person explain that she was the result of an experiment. The experiment involved the inter-mixing of her Ina parents DNA with that of an African-American woman's. This had apparently allowed to her to stay alert during the day and not blister as much.

'Interesting, that's similar to what The Five did with the Source Blood,' Nikola thought to himself, as he eyed Helen, wondering if she thought the same thing.

After the Silk family found out about Shori's family's success, they tried to kill her three times, almost succeeding the first time. This and the looming US Civil War had forced them to back to lands previous generations had owned in Hungary. When that didn't work out, they moved near Smiljan, present day Croatia in 1850.

'Wait, I don't like where she's going with this,' Nikola thought with a worried looked in his eyes.

"It was then we met your human mother, Djuka, curious and brilliant woman that she was; smelled wonderful too," Shori said, reflecting upon the memory.

At mention of his mother, Nikola stared suspiciously at Shori. 'She can't be suggesting what I think she is. Surely, my parents were NOT involved with these Ina without my knowledge! Were they?' Nikola thought as his anger began to rise again.

"How dare you suggest my mother was involved with you!" Nikola exclaimed with angry eyes and a fist to the table in front of him.

"You can wine all you want; it won't change the truth," Theodora retorted, frustrated her long lost brother was making such a big deal out of this.

"Hey! Do you honestly expect him to just welcome all of this with open arms?" Iosif said, giving his sister a hard look. Being as much human as Stephan was, he could sympathize more easily with him.

To that Theodora responded, "I was just making a point."

"I think this would be a good time for a break." Helen said in a matter of fact tone.

"Yes, I agree. I wouldn't want a fight to break out," William commented.

Both Nikola's and Helen's heads were spinning. They both had a bunch of questions and neither knew whether to believe what they were being told. This was a lot of information to take in period, whether it was true or not. A break was in order.


	5. The Back Story, Part 2

**Chapter 5: The Back story, part 2**

Nikola went back to his guestroom after grabbing something to eat from the kitchen. He had needed to go back there, at least for a while. He needed to be around something, at least somewhat familiar. His world or what he thought was his world was having the rug pulled out from under it and he had an uneasy feeling it wasn't done being pulled.

It wasn't that he doubted what they were telling him. Like his supposed mother had said earlier, a part of him, however small it may have been, did want to believe what he was hearing. It would be nice to not be all alone for once; to have someone around who he felt could truly understand him.

Despite all The Five had been through, he still felt as though none of the others really understood him. Helen had come the closest and even then he wondered if she thought him crazy half the time. Then again, now that she knew the effect Dane's death had on him, things might be different. 'Things can't be that different though,' Nikola thought to himself. Even though they had all injected themselves with the Source Blood, which had altered or brought out certain genetic traits in each of The Five, Nikola knew that none of the rest of The Five could understand. After all, they weren't part vampire or Ina or whatever the hell he was to begin with.

Again, a part of him wanted, badly, to believe what he was being told, but the part of him that had grown used to feeling alone, abandoned, and misunderstood; the part of him that had used its mind to bury his long wounded heart, would not let go easily. That and what he was being told, while not completely removed, was still pretty far removed from what he thought he knew about his ancestors.

**~Back in the foyer, some time earlier~**

"Can I get you anything?" Helen asked the guests after Nikola had left the room.

"No thanks. Actually, I think it's a good idea that Theodora and I leave," Shori told Helen.

"Why? You just got here not too long ago. If you really are Nikola's family, surely you wouldn't abandon your son and brother so early after finding him again," Helen responded with a concerned look on her face.

"We assure you, we are not abandoning him. You must understand that adult Ina are sexually territorial. We, un-like humans, do not live in opposite sex groupings. In fact, adult Ina cannot live like adult mated humans. Adult Ina live in same sex groupings. Mates will visit each other, but cannot live together. Male Ina children live with their mothers, sisters, and eldermothers until they are what you would call teenagers or shortly before they come of age. Their fathers take them around the age of 55. Then they live with their other brothers, fathers, and elderfathers for the remainder of their lives.

"Stephan or Nikola as you call him is 140. He will have or already should have come of age, which happens around 70 years old. He is too old to be sharing territory with female members of his family. We are scared for him. His scent will change once the altered DNA is removed and his correct Ina genes are completely re-activated. Also worth noting is the medication you have him on will no longer work and he'll need symbionts. We've brought a serum with us that should do the trick however, simply being exposed to us could have already started the process.

"As his scent begins to change, he will be viewed more and more as an unmated, available adult male. This will make us, meaning Theodora and I, increasingly uncomfortable around him because among the Ina the females are the territorial ones. This also means that he will become increasingly uncomfortable around us. In fact, I suspect he already somewhat has, hence his need to leave the room," Shori explained.

"This is why we believe it best that Iosif and I stay behind to help him through this. We understand it will not be easy to get through, but who else can?" William continued as he turned to exit the foyer.

"Perhaps we should give him some space. He has been put through a lot already, and this is just the beginning," Iosif suggested, mainly to his father.

"It is because he has been through a lot already, that he needs us the most right now. Besides, the changes have already begun. He needs someone who could understand what's happening around," William responded, the look of a father concerned for his son on his face.

"Dad, I understand you concern. I'm concerned for him too. I wasn't suggesting we leave; I was just suggesting that we don't rush him," Iosif clarified.

"I understand what you are saying, but I think with your mother and sister gone, we will have better luck," William responded with a determined tone.

"Okay," Iosif replied while rolling his eyes. He realized it was pointless to try and convince his father otherwise. He, un-like his father, wasn't so sure they would have better luck so shortly after breaking the news to his brother and they weren't even done either. Even with his mother and sister gone; he knew his brother would need a lot of time process what was going on.

"You aren't going to say goodbye before you leave?" Helen asked the two females, noticing they were in the process of leaving.

"We believe it unwise. He will come to understand why as the changes continue and as he learns more about who he really is," Theodora answered as she and Shori headed out the door.

"Very well. Good luck to you both," Helen said to Shori and Theodora.

"I believe I shall go find the psychologist on staff and inform him of this new information. I believe you will probably find Nikola in the guestroom I have provided for him," she told both William and Iosif, pointing towards the guest wing.

"Thanks for the direction, but I believe we'll be able to track him by scent," William said as Helen headed in the other direction.

"Your welcome"


	6. Some Catching Up To Do

**Chapter 6: Some Checking Up To Do**

**~Somewhere in Old City~**

As Shori and Theodora were headed to where Wright had parked the car, they ran into Daniel Gordon, one of William's brothers, and Daniel's symbionts in another car headed towards the Sanctuary. Linda Higuera, a tall Latino looking woman and one of William's symbionts was in the driver's seat. The others spotted Shori and Theodora and found a place on the side of the road to park.

Shori and Theodora approached the parked car, noting that Iosif's symbionts; Grant and Margaret were also in the car with the others.

"They must have figured out we've found him," Daniel explained.

"What happened?"

"Punta Nublada was attacked for the first time in over two centuries and this time the attackers were somewhat successful."

"Damn! I thought these kinds of things were over for good. Let me guess arson?"

"Yes, just like your mother's & father's communities."

"So, that means that Iosif & William as well as Stephan will have to stay at the Sanctuary; at least until thing get sorted out. Damn it! I thought they'd have at least waited until he was at one of our communities to attack."

"I think we should get back to our community quickly than, if it is still intact. If not, we'll find someplace to go for the meantime," Shori said as she and Theodora started to head south.

**~Back at Cabal headquarters~**

A middle-aged man walked into the small conference room in which Ana and Dana were having a conversation.

"We've got a potential problem," the man interrupted.

"What would our potential problem be?" Ana asked the man.

"The Mathew's brat's real parents have found him. The real one I mean."

"Let them find him. We've already sent arsonists to Punta Nublada to destroy the community and with only a few symbionts, if any survive the attack, they be forced to stay at the Sanctuary were we can keep a better eye on them. Plus, it will take them a while to figure things out and they'll be too pre-occupied with getting through to their son, if I know him as well as I think I do, that it will be too late when they finally do figure it out," Ana reassured the man.

"Very well then, I will leave you two to your business," the man said before leaving the room.

Ana waited a minute after the man left, before turning the computer monitor back on. Another man, dressed in a lab coat, appeared on the screen.

"Do we have the latest results from our experiments with the genetically altered bugs?" Ana asked the doctor via microphone.

"Yes, but we won't know how effective they'll be until we test them out. Should I start the experiments with the Blood?" the doctor asked.

"Yes and I want regular updates," Ana responded.

"I'll get right on it then."

"Good," Ana said and turned off the monitor.

"Looks like we'll have our army in no time," Dana commented.

"If all goes well, and it should, than yes."

"Do you think it necessary to destroy the Mathews community as well?" Dana asked.

"No, not yet, it would draw too much attention. Besides, that was probably Milo Silk's and my mother, Katherine's downfall the first time. However, her death will not be in vain! We will show those half breed's what they really are!" Ana exclaimed with a smirk on her face.

**~Will's Office, present~**

"We've got some unexpected guests and some unexpected information about Nikola and possibly the Cabal later on," Helen informed both Henry and Will.

"If it has anything to do with what happened last night, I've looked some stuff up. Turns out, what Nikola was talking about during his lucid nightmare was true. His older brother, Dane did die right in front of him when he was only seven years old," Will began.

"However, there's more than one account of how Dane died. One states that Dane fell off a horse when Nikola spooked it; another states that Nikola pushed twelve year old Dane down the cellar stairs. Now, I highly doubt Nikola had enough strength to push Dane down a flight of stairs at the age of seven. Plus, Nikola mentioned the horse riding incident in his nightmare. So, I'm thinking the horse incident is what really happened," Will finished.

"Either way, that's still an early age to have experienced death. However, that's not what I was going to say. According to our guests, vampires aren't much like we thought," Helen responded.

"Whoa, whoa whadya mean?" Henry asked.

"Well, for starters, they don't call themselves vampires. They call themselves Ina, they weren't all killed off, and they were never sterilized, like are research suggested. Also, the blood the Five experimented with was not from a pure sample. Now, again, this is all according to our guests. . . Oh, and they claim to be Nikola's family," Helen answered.

"Wait . . . our guests are vampires?" Will asked.

"So they claim. I guess we'll have to wait and see, plus if they have useful information on the Cabal as they claim I want to know."

"Are you planning on taking anything like a blood sample to study?"

"Yes, and they aren't finished giving us information either. What little they did give both Nikola and I, is rather far removed from all that we know or thought we knew about vampires that we thought a break was in order," Helen said.

**~Nikola/Stephan's guestroom~**

William and Iosif had surprisingly found Stephan's guestroom door unlocked. William quietly opened the door and walked inside followed by Iosif. They found Stephan staring out his window, apparently deep in his own thoughts.

"Stephan," William said as he walked up to him.

"Don't call me that!" Nikola exclaimed with his back towards William, on the verge of tears.

"We know this is hard to take or even believe for that matter, but you will never find out the truth if you don't at least give us a chance," William said trying to claim his son down.

"Even if you are who you claim to be," Nikola managed to get out, struggling to hold himself together as it was.

"Why should I trust you?" Nikola asked, his face turned away from his potential family.

"Would you rather we referred to you as Nikola?" Iosif asked his brother.

Nikola had figured out trying to hide anything from either of them was pointless. That they'd smell any emotion he was trying to hide. What scared him was the most, even though he knew this, he didn't understand how he knew and he had never remembered ever experiencing anything like this or reading about it while doing his research. What was happening to him?

"You abandoned me! You left me to suffer! If you were my family, why wait this damn long to contact me?" Nikola screamed facing Iosif and William, tears now running down his face.

"Your pain and anger is understandable, as is your reluctance to trust us. We are complete strangers to you; yet I think you sense, at some level that we are telling you the truth. Merely being exposed to our scents, has started your process of change; the removal of the altered DNA and the re-activation of your true genetics. While this will not complete the process, it has started it. You have been having some weird feelings since our arrival, have you not? Say, needing to leave the common room and go to some thing familiar? Your mother, or I should really say your Ina mother, had experienced the same thing when she was re-introduced to her father. Because, your Ina mother and one of your sisters were in the room with you, you felt uncomfortable around them," William explained.

Nikola stared at William in wonder. He didn't know how, this man knew that he'd felt uncomfortable around the two women, but he had clearly noticed, somehow. Perhaps they were telling the truth. Perhaps these two men were his family. However, Nikola wasn't quite ready to admit it, not yet anyways.


	7. Backstabbing Jackasses Are ReBorn Again

**Chapter 7: Back Stabbing Jackasses Come Back From the Dead**

"We know you're scared. Your Ina mother experienced something similar when both her mother's & sister's and her father's & brother's communities were burned to the ground in 1830. She had managed to escape the attack and hid in a near by cave. However, when she awoke; she had no memory of whom or what she was. She had only instinct and her senses to go off of. All she knew when she woke up was that she was in pain and lots of it," William started to explain.

"Well, at least she had the possibility of re-gaining her memory, unlike me, who can't because he was theoretically abandoned," Nikola snarked sarcastically.

"For as much you look like father, you certainly, have mother's spunk. Not only that, from the stories Celia's told me of Stefan, who, by the way, you were originally named after, you've also got a bit of his personality as well. From what I can tell anyways," Iosif remarked.

"Well, isn't that nice to know," Nikola snidely remarked back at his supposed brother.

"Oh, would you two stop it!" William interjected.

**~The Sanctuary Foyer~**

Bigfoot had returned to tidying up the foyer when the doorbell rang, again.

"Can I help you?" he asked the six people standing at the door.

"We are looking for these two individuals; we believe them to be her," one of the males asked whilst holding up a picture of Iosif and William together.

"Yes, I believe so, but let me find Dr. Magnus just to make sure. Please, come in and site down," Bigfoot told them.

"Thank you. It is urgent that we speak with them," the make replied as Bigfoot went to go find Dr. Magnus.

The six guests looked around the foyer in amazement.

"This place must be amazing! Just look at the decoration," one of the female symbionts remarked.

"You know this place is called a 'sanctuary' for a reason. It is a place where beings like us can have somewhere safe to stay," Daniel told them.

"Yes, that's why I started something like this than a century ago. I'm Dr. Helen Magnus and this is my assistant Dr. Will Zimmermann."

"My name is Daniel Gordon. I'm one of William's brothers. An urgent matter has come up and we need to speak with him as soon as possible," Daniel explained.

"I'll show you where he is," Helen offered.

"Thank you, but there should be no need," Daniel told both Helen and Will.

"How else would you know how to find him?" Will asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"I'm able to track his scent," Daniel answered.

"Okay, then," Will responded still confused.

"Would you mind if we came with you, or do you think this is a private matter?" Helen asked.

"We believe it should be a private conversation at this time. We will inform you of anything we feel you need to know," Daniel replied.

"Very well then," Helen replied while pointing Daniel in the right direction.

Daniel and the others walked in the direction Helen had pointed in, heading towards Nikola's guestroom. When they got there, they found the door closed, but not locked. Daniel slowly and quietly opened the door, finding William & Iosif talking with who he could only presume to be their son & brother.

"My, my, somebody sure looks like his father," Daniel said, announcing his presence in the room.

"Who the hell are you, more of my family that abandoned me?" Nikola asked. Not that he needed to. He already knew part of the answer to his own question. This Daniel person, however he was related to William & Iosif, looked too similar to them and strangely enough, smelled too much like them.

"My name is Daniel Gordon. I'm one of your father's brothers, and these are some our symbionts or human's that we share mutual symbiotic relationship with," Daniel replied, clearly grieving something, but Nikola didn't know what.

"Daniel what's wrong?" William asked his brother, smelling his grief.

"Punta Nublada's been attacked," Daniel managed to get out after a long silence.

Both William & Iosif sat in silence with stunned faces as they eyed what symbionts had they assumed survived the attack.

Nikola scanned the room with his eyes, looking at all of them. He clearly saw shock and grief in their faces and body language. As had been happening recently, he was also smelling weird things; things that one wouldn't usually smell. They smelled angry and saddened. But these were emotions. 'How is it possible to smell emotions?' Nikola wondered to himself.

Nikola suddenly realized that he was starting to have a hunger for blood, something he hadn't felt in awhile, at least not since he had started taking the medication Helen had suggested he take. He frantically went over the drawer where he kept his medication and pulled out a needle containing animal blood and injected himself with it. It helped some, but hadn't completely satisfied his sudden blood lust and he started to panic a bit. Of course, having the vow he made over a century ago fresh in his mind, did not help at all and despite what Helen may have believed while they were in Rome, he did intend to keep it.

Nikola was brought out of his thoughts when a rock hit him. Nikola looked in the direction the rock came from, but saw nothing. He did, however, catch a familiar scent. 'No, it can't be who I think it is; he died in the sixties,' Nikola thought despite what his senses were telling him and turned back around. 'Nigel is dead. We all know that,' Nikola tried to reassure himself.

"Hello Nikola," Nigel whispered from behind, as he re-appeared, holding a knife in his hand.

"Hhhow are you alive, Nigel?" Nikola asked his old friend.

"Assuming I didn't fake my death, like you, are we?"

Nikola was again bewildered. He had been bewildered so many times in the past 24 hours he swore he was loosing his mind. Despite his bewilderment, his re-activated Ina senses were beginning to take over. He started to take note of Nigel's scent more closely. He smelled similar to William, Daniel, & Iosif but not the same. Then hit it him. Nigel had never died in the first place. For whatever reasons he had faked his death, he wanted the rest of "The Five" to think he was dead. Nigel had become a symbiont of some other Ina and Nikola had a feeling the Cabal were involved somehow.

'Wait', he thought to himself. 'If some of the church were Ina & their symbionts and this sub group didn't like the genetic inter-mixing that his supposed family was doing, then it would make sense that the Cabal were this sub-group.' This than meant that the Cabal wasn't after him because of his research, they were after him because of his humanity. It was his humanity that they feared, not his research.

'If what I'm thinking is true, than it also would make sense that Nigel had become a symbiont of a Cabal member. It's the only reason I can think of as to why Nigel would want the rest of us to think he was dead,' Nikola reasoned out.

"YOU BACK STABBING JACKASS!" Nikola hissed at Nigel, bringing the others out of their own grief stricken, shocked worlds.

"I may have had some questionable motives at times, but I would NEVER work WITH the Cabal!" Nikola yelled.

"The self proclaimed genius figures it out. It really is a shame that with all of Watson's analytical genius, he never did," Nigel whispered into Nikola's ear.

"AHHH!" Nikola screamed as Nigel thrust his knife into Nikola's back.

"Oh, and I hope when you said I was a back stabbing jackass, you meant literally because it would really be a shame if you didn't," Nigel snarked as he became invisible again.

William caught his son as he was collapsing to the floor, while Iosif tracked Nigel down by scent, preventing Nigel from leaving the room.

"Leave and find Dr. Magnus. When you find her send her here. Tell her someone is in need of medical attention," William told Daniel and the rest of the symbionts.

"Stay behind, some of her staff may have questions," William told the symbionts.

All the symbionts nodded and followed Daniel towards Helen's scent. They found her in her office, talking with her assistant, Will.

"Excuse us, Dr. Magnus, but your assistance is needed in one of the guestrooms," Daniel politely interrupted.

"Why? What happened?"

"Someone's been stabbed."

"Is Nikola alright?" Helen asked with a concerning tone.

'So that's what they call William's son,' Daniel thought before answering.

"No, he is not. He is the one who has been stabbed by someone named Nigel. We have caught this Nigel and I presume my brother's other son is questioning him right now as we speak," Daniel answered.

"Oh dear, I better get down there quickly then. We'll need to get Nikola down to the infirmary right away," Helen responded. She briskly walked with Daniel to Nikola's guestroom, while the symbionts stayed behind, knowing they might be in danger because of Nikola's condition.

Once they got to Nikola's guestroom, Helen was shocked for a moment as she stared at Nigel Griffin, who everyone had presumed dead. After getting over her shock, she then turned her attention to a wounded, unconscious Nikola in William's arms.

"He'll need raw meet soon to help him heal, but he should be taken to an infirmary as soon as possible," William told her.

Helen was a bit taken aback by the 'raw meet' comment but decided to ask about it later. Right now, they needed to get Nikola to the infirmary.

"Somebody will need to carry him and follow me," She told William as he picked Nikola up and carefully put him on his back.

William followed Helen to the infirmary and found a bed to lay his son on. Helen set up the IV and blood transfusions promptly while William looked on with a concerned face.

"Even though he's old enough to be a young adult, since he never learned about his own race, he might as well be a child. And, considering the situation he'll have to learn everything rather quickly. His Ina mother, Shori had to go though something similar when she had traumatic amnesia at the age of 53," William informed Helen as he looked down at his son.

"Nikola's always been rather stubborn. I'll think he'll get though this. It might take awhile, but he'll pull though," Helen tried to reassure his father, even though she herself wasn't sure. There were still too many questions that needed answering.


	8. Breakthroughs and Breakdowns

**Chapter 8: Breakthroughs and Breakdowns**

**~Meanwhile, Somewhere at Oxford University~**

John Druitt sat a top the where 'The Five' had performed the experiments with the Source blood in deep thought. He hadn't gone on another killing spree, despite what Helen, Ashley, or Nikola may have thought. When they got Ashley back from the Cabal, he thought things would be different. The way things were supposed to be from the beginning, but Watson's death had taken its toll, and John sensed that something was still amiss.

He had sensed something was amiss with one or more of 'The Five' some time ago. At the time, he concluded it was either Nigel or Nikola or both. However, with Nigel's death in the sixties, he'd turned his attention to Nikola. Surprisingly however, since the Source Blood was stolen by the Cabal and when they'd gotten Ashley back, Nikola hadn't done anything suspicious. In fact, he'd been quite helpful, causing John to doubt his original assumptions.

It was when this doubt crept in, that John decided to leave the Sanctuary for a while and come here. He'd always come here to think things though, as it seemed to provide a sense of ease and a strange comfort. He'd been here for quite some time, and still couldn't figure it out. He knew Nikola was hiding something, but he didn't get the feeling that it was related to his vampire army. No, whatever Nikola was hiding went farther back than that.

It was then that John sensed something present with him. He turned around in a circle with a clockwise motion, but saw nothing.

"Whose there?"

"Who we are is not important. What we are here to show you is."

John spun around towards the direction the words came from to find a strange light. 'Am I hallucinating?' John thought to himself.

"No one else can see or hear you or us," this strange light said, trying to reassure John.

'This thing, light, whatever it is, is certainly strange. It seems to have an intelligence of its own,' John thought.

"What are you here to show me than?"

"We are here to take you back in time. There are things you need to be shown that will help you understand things that have been puzzling you for some time.

"Now, understand that on this trip through time, you will only be able to observe the events going on. You will not be able to change anything," the light explained while having taken the form a human being.

With that, the being transported itself and John to what looked like a small village somewhere in Eastern Europe. John observed a black woman and a pale skinned white man with a baby just outside a house. John could only assume that the child was theirs, although he was a bit surprised to see a black woman with a white man, not that he was racist or anything.

The view changed temporarily to a close-up of the baby. John locked eyes with the baby and immediately recognized the eyes he was staring into. "Nikola," John said out loud.

"Yes, there was always more to him than even he knows at the present time. Listen to their conversation," the being told John.

"I really wish we didn't have to do this," the woman said.

"I know. I wish we didn't either. However, he will have a safe place to spend much of his childhood at least, and it will be with his human mother," the man replied.

"Human mother? What do they mean by that?" John asked the being.

"Despite what you have been led to believe, vampires weren't wiped out and were never sterilized.

"They knew about genetic engineering long before humans did. The man you know as Nikola Tesla is the result of an experiment in genetic re-engineering and compatibility among species."

"That sounds similar to the experiment the five of us conducted with the Source Blood at Oxford," John replied.

"Yes, in fact, the Five were 'guided' to conduct that experiment, as it would make things easier later on for you, Dr. Magnus, and Mr. Tesla."

"How?"

"You'll find out later, but there are other things we need to show you first," the being responded.

Suddenly John found himself on a farm. In an open field a young boy was riding a horse. John spotted a seven year old Nikola come running towards the older boy. The young Nikola had apparently spooked the horse, making the older boy slide off the side and underneath the startled animal.

John looked on as the frightened horse trampled the older boy while a helpless Nikola watched the older boy die.

"Why didn't he tell anyone?" John asked as he watched a panicked Nikola run over to the dead boy.

"He tried to ease his human family's suffering, but no matter what he did, he only seemed to worsen it. Another thing that should be noted is the boy who just died, was the family favorite to become an engineer, not Nikola," the being said as the scene switched to a sickly teenage Nikola, almost on his deathbed.

"His human adoptive father continually tried to re-direct Nikola's energy towards taking his place in the priesthood. It wasn't until Nikola survived this, that the man finally let up and allowed Nikola to study engineering at the Polytechnic Institute in Graz, Austria."

"Wait, did the couple adopt him?" John asked, still somewhat confused.

"Sort of, his human mother actually donated her DNA to the experiment Nikola was a result of. It was because of this, her and her husband took Nikola in when asked to."

"Okay, woah," John exclaimed as the scene changed once again. This time it was Nigel's funeral.

"Why are we here?"

"You'll find out soon enough, pay close attention to that tree over there."

John looked over to where the being was pointing, seeing two figures in the distance.

"I assume these two figures I'm seeing the distance are important?"

"Yes," the being responded as the view changed to a close-up of the two, one of which John recognized.

"How is this possible?"

"You are watching Nigel Griffin, watch his own faked death."

"But why?"

"I believe you will be able to ask Nigel that question yourself," the being said, its voice fading as John found himself in the Sanctuary infirmary, present day.

"John!" Helen exclaimed, surprised to see him.

John couldn't help but stare at an unconscious but alive Nikola. He had been wrong about him, for the most part and had undoubtedly, reminded Nikola of the inadequacy his human father had made him feel. Now that John knew about Nikola's past, he felt sorry for the man. 'He probably still blames himself for his older brother's death.'

"What happened here?" John asked.

"Someone name Nigel stabbed him in the back," the pale white stranger replied.

John recognized this stranger as the pale white man from his little trip to the past.

"Wait, you're Nikola's real father, aren't you?" John asked the stranger as he turned to face him.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Let's just say, thanks to a certain being, I took a trip to the past. I know Nigel faked his death; that you had to give Nikola to his human mother to raise, and that he watched his older step brother die right in front of him," John responded.

"The serum's ready. Should it be injected with the IV or directly into his bloodstream?" another pale stranger asked.

"Oh! I should introduce us. I'm William Gordon and this is my brother Daniel," Nikola's father said while pointing to the other stranger.

"So, this serum what will it do to Nikola?" John asked.

"It will purge what's left of the altered DNA and than help continue the re-activation of his Ina genetics," Daniel answered.

"Ina, I presume that is what vampires call themselves?"

"Yes. Now when the process is complete, he will be weak, and considering he's been injured, he'll also need raw meat and at least one symbiont," William explained.

"Symbiont? What's a symbiont?"

"Symbionts are humans that we share a mutual symbiotic relationship with."

"You mean feed off of? What about the medication he has been taking?"

"It will not work, as it was designed for the altered DNA. As far as symbionts are concerned, while some Ina treat their symbionts as nothing more than tools to be used, most Ina treat their symbionts as humans beings, with great respect for them."

"And how do I know which group you belong to?"

"I suppose you would just have to trust our word, but if we ever find out he has mistreated his symbionts, he will have the wraith of his mother to deal with," William informed John.

"And trust us, he doesn't want that. Now, about the serum?" Daniel interjected.

"Ah yes, I would say directly into the bloodstream."

"That's what I was thinking. Now hold him steady," Daniel explained as he injected Nikola with the serum.

Nikola awoke suddenly as the serum hit his bloodstream. "Urgh," he managed to get out, as his biology began to change. All his teeth became canines and he pupils enlarged slightly, letting in a little too much light.

"Try to bring out you vampire side," John told Nikola.

"John what are you doing here?" Nikola asked as he tried to cover his eyes with an arm. However, he realized how little energy he had when he couldn't even lift either one. He tried to change but panicked when he couldn't.

"What the hell is going on and would someone please dim the lights?"

"You can't, can you?"

"No, John, I can't, you happy? Now, would someone please explain what the hell is going on?" Nikola asked, clearly annoyed by John's presence.

"We injected a serum into you that took any remaining altered DNA, and helped completely re-activate your Ina genes," William explained.

"Oh, so now I'm going blind besides dying from a stab wound."

"Claim down, you're not going to die, and you're not going blind. Would someone please dim the lights while his eyes adjust and bring some raw meat so he can heal faster?"

"I'd rather have it cooked."

"You need it raw for the blood."

"Why? I have blood transfusions?"

"And how are those holding your blood lust?"

Nikola closed his eyes, not saying anything for the moment. It was bad enough he couldn't hide much, if anything from these Ina and what made it worse was having John in the room.

"I'll take your silence as 'a not very well.'"

"I made a vow that I wouldn't feed on humans and I intend to keep it," Nikola stated stubbornly.

"He's being stubborn as usual," John said.

"You've picked quite a time to be stubborn," Daniel informed Nikola.

"Look, Nikola. You're no use to anybody dead."

"Since when the hell do you care John?"

"Since I found out Nigel faked his death and stabbed us all in the back. Look, I'm sorry for how I treated you. I knew something wasn't right, and when we all thought Nigel was dead, I turned my attention to you. Now, while I commend you for wanting to keep your vow, you made it when we really didn't know anything. Do you really think now is the time to be stubborn?" John asked.

"Nikola! John has a point!" Helen exclaimed as Bigfoot brought some uncooked ground beef into the room.

"Get. That. Away. From. Me." Nikola said. He swore to himself that he would not give in to his growing blood lust even if it killed him. However, even as he thought this, he knew he was tired. He barely had enough energy to fight the growing urge to just eat the damn beef.

He closed his eyes again and sighed, deciding he would rest some more. Perhaps after he was well rested this blood lust would go away.

"I guess he wants to rest some more. It would do him some good anyways," William said reading Nikola's body language.

"He needs to eat the beef at some point though. We should keep it close by," Daniel added.

"Funny thing life is. Now that he's practically on his death bed, I can't seem to just let him die," John commented, mostly to Helen.

"I suppose it is a bit ironic."


End file.
